c.1605, dates of birth and death unknown) in the early Edo period (1603–1868) and, according to legend,[1] first put to use in a duel with Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵, 1584–1645).

The spreading of Shintō Musō-ryū beyond Japan was largely the effort of Takaji Shimizu, (1896–1978), considered the 25thd headmaster, who, unlike many other traditional martial arts teachers, wanted Jodo to be known and taught internationally.

According to its own history,[1] Shintō Musō-ryū was founded in the Keichō era (1594–1614) by Musō Gonnosuke, a samurai with considerable martial arts experience.

Gonnosuke used his training in kenjutsu, naginatajutsu, sōjutsu and bōjutsu, which he acquired in part from Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū[6] and Kashima Jikishinkage-ryū, to develop his art.

After the creation of his jō techniques and his establishment as a skilled jōjutsu practitioner he was invited by the Kuroda clan of Fukuoka, in northern Kyūshū, to teach his art to their warriors.

This was done as a way of making sure the secrets and principles could not be copied by rival schools or individuals, should an outsider accidentally (or by deliberate spying) observe the techniques in action.

The SMR tradition has been shaped over the centuries as to teach the student the proper value and application of combative distance to the opponent (maai), posture (shisei), and mental awareness (zanshin), among other skills.

[8] As a traditional Japanese martial art, there is also a high emphasis on etiquette, such as bowing (rei) and attaining a proper mental attitude in the student and the approach to training.

Common methods include controlling the opponent's hands, wrists, and other targets by using the staff to either strike, thrust or otherwise manipulate the target-areas.

A typical Shintō Musō-ryū dōjō practices the same courtesy and manners as found in Japanese society generally, placing great emphasis on etiquette and tradition.

The modern Shintō Musō-ryū system holds approximately 64 staff-forms divided into several series, though this number is including variations and is not always counted as an individual form.

The series Gohon no midare (五本の乱れ) was created by Shimizu in the late 1930s and are not part of the original "scroll of transmission" (denshō), which contains the list of official SMR techniques.

The basic techniques were developed and systematized mainly by Shimizu Takaji [1] at his Tokyo dōjō, for the purpose of easing the introduction to (complex) forms training.

Shimizu's peer, Takayama Kiroku, leader of the Fukuoka Shintō Musō-ryū Dōjō, saw the value of these basic techniques and introduced them into his own training sessions.

Shimizu Takaji himself was issued his Menkyo Kaiden very early in his life in comparison to modern western standards, though he trained for several hours each day.

[11] A person with a fully valid Menkyo Kaiden has the right to teach the art to whoever he or she chooses and also holds the right to issue scrolls of transmissions to his students.

However, if a Menkyo Kaiden decided to make radical changes to the system, such as adding or removing parts of the art, he would be departing from belonging to a ha, and in effect be creating a new style.

There are five classical ranks in Shintō Musō-ryū, as follows in ascending order of seniority:[1] The Jōdō Section of the All Japan Kendo Federation has adopted the modern dan/kyu system going from Ikkyu (1st Kyu, 一級) to Hachidan (8th Dan, 八段).

Additionally, there are the three teaching licences of Renshi (錬士), Kyōshi (教士) and Hanshi (範士) (collectively known as Shōgō (称号)) which can be awarded at the last three grades (6th, 7th and 8th Dan respectively).

One of the most famous promoter of the jō outside of Shintō Musō-ryū in modern times, and indeed in the martial arts community as a whole, was the founder of Aikidō, Morihei Ueshiba.

In the majority of dōjos today, the jōdōka essentially uses the same clothing as practitioners of kendō, minus the armour and other protective padding: A blue/indigo uwagi (jacket), an obi (belt, often the same type as used in iaidō), a blue or black hakama (wide trousers used by samurai).

All-white keikogi and Hakama are also used in various dōjo and/or on special occasions such as public demonstrations or competitions.b The original Shintō Musō-ryū tradition is composed of around 59 jō kata and is divided into seven sets.

But, for all intents and purposes, each of the fuzoku ryūha retain a separate identity with their own history and tradition and are generally not taught to people outside the SMR-tradition.

The 24th unofficial headmaster of Shinto Musō Ryu, Shiraishi Hanjirō, received a full license (Menkyo) in Isshin-ryū from Morikata Heisaku in the late 19th century,.

[1][8] It contains twelve kata, which at the time of their inception were loosely organised into a system called "sutteki-jutsu" and were derived mainly from Shintō Musō-ryū and Ikkaku-ryū techniques.

[1] The jutte (or jitte) was a widespread Edo period police weapon used to control, disarm, and subdue a criminal who would most likely be armed with a sword, without killing him (except in extreme situations).

[8] In the integrated art of Ikkaku-ryū juttejutsu, the tessen, or war fan, approximately 30 cm in length, is used in tandem with the jutte in some of the kata.

The chain is 12 shaku long[8] (3.6 meters) and the attached weight can be thrown against an opponent's weapon, hands or body, either disarming him or otherwise preventing him from properly defending himself against the kama.

A famous user of the kusarigama outside of Shintō Musō-ryū was Shishido Baiken, who was killed in a duel with the legendary Miyamoto Musashi.

From the end of the Samurai reign in 1877 to the early 20th century, SMR was still largely confined to Fukuoka city on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu where the art first was created and thrived, although it was slowly spreading.